Sobukwe left indelible mark

THE narrative of the liberation struggle of South Africa can never be complete without reference to the indelible mark left by Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, the first president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. He was born in Graaff-Reinet on December 5 1924.

Sobukwe, under the slogans, "no bail, no defence, no fine" and "leaders in front", led the anti-pass campaign that culminated in the Sharpeville/Langa massacres on March 21 1960. This event drew international attention, provoking the United Nations to declare apartheid a "crime against humanity".

Unprecedentedly, the apartheid regime was compelled to suspend the compulsion of Africans to carry passes. Subsequently, Sobukwe was sentenced to three years' hard labour and, on his release, detained for six years on Robben Island.

Sobukwe was more than an activist but a theoretician and intellectual. He defined and refined concepts such as "African nationalism" and "Africanism" at a time when some in this country could not distinguish between progressive African nationalism and reactionary Afrikaner nationalism.

It was under his leadership that the PAC introduced the concept of "non-racialism", a concept later adopted and championed by the ANC. Sobukwe turned South African politics from being politics of protest to politics of challenge.

Sobukwe championed pan-Africanism in South Africa at a time when majority leaders in the continent would not want to associate themselves with this noble ideology.

Sobukwe untamed in life, victorious in death.

Nomakosazana Maqetuka, PAC Eastern Cape provincial treasurer